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Adidas Questra

Articles
and pictures from Sheridan Bird,
January 28, 2004

In June 1990, the football
viewing public were eagerly anticipating the start of the sport’s
greatest tournament, the FIFA World Cup, in Italy, a country widely
known and loved for its creativity and artistic ambience. A leader
in fashion, wine, art and sculpture, the host nation seemed ready to
provide the perfect backdrop for a festival of exciting, flowing
football.

However, the reality was
far from the fantastic feast all had hoped for. Despite some
tremendous waves of emotion, notably from host nation Italy in their
painful semi-final exit, and likewise England, goals were at a
premium. This was the first world cup which saw teams belligerently
playing for penalties, without trying to attack or impose themselves
in the 90 minutes and extra time. This was for many, a sterile,
cynical World Cup.

The dreary deadlock of
many of the knockout matches caused a headache for FIFA, who were
desperate for the next World Cup, to be held in the USA, to be a
triumph. Americans were more accustomed to high scoring sports, and
tepid, defensive 0-0 results would send the TV viewers away in their
droves, thus jeopardizing vast amounts of advertising revenue. FIFA
needed a way to make football exciting and unpredictable again.
Crackpot schemes like making the goals bigger were proposed, and
then rightly binned, but FIFA had a brainwave. They asked the
official matchball manufacturer, Adidas, to jazz up the ball.

THE
QUEST FOR THE STARS

FIFA
WORLD CUP 1994

Adidas concluded that the
key to more goals was a lighter, more responsive ball, which would
be the perfect tool for a gifted player. Out went heavy, slow balls,
and in came the Questra. Taking its
name from an ancient word meaning “the quest for the stars”, the
new ball took its logo from its space age technology, and as a
tribute to the host nation’s rich history of space exploration.
The whole concept was based on the themes of innovation and striving
for perfection.

The
technical development for the Questra took place in the Adidas center
for ball development in France, followed by test games in France,
Germany and the USA with professional players, amateurs and youth
teams. The ball was manufactured from five different materials with
a flexible but durable outer layer made from polyurethane. Each
trigon featured an array of space imagery: planets, black holes and,
of course, stars.

Within
a week of the tournament, some spectacular goals had been scored. As
predicted, the better players took to the lighter model with no
difficulty. Memorably, Romanian captain Hagi floated a wonderful
goal over the stricken goalkeeper’s head from distance in an early
group match.

However,
the goalkeeping fraternity found the ball too hot to handle. In some
of the venues, such as Florida and California, the regional humidity
caused the ball to bend and move in the air like never before. This
made life extremely tough for the men in gloves. But, as FIFA had
requested, the goals flew in from some impossible angles, and the
competition was a resounding success. In terms of sheer, attacking
play and flair, USA ’94 was a sensation. Of course, the final was
a drab 0-0 affair, but not even space age technology could be
expected to change the mentality of a defensive footballing nation
such as Italy. Adidas was responsible for the balls, not tactics.

OLYMPICS
1996

The
triumph of the Questra led to the birth of several new models. For
the Olympic football tournament in Atlanta, the ball was given a new
image and named the Questra Olympia. The fabled Olympic flame
was placed in the trigon as a tribute to the spirit and history of
the games.

EUROPEAN
CHAMPIONSHIPS 1996

The
England badge was used for the Questra
Europa ball at Euro ’96, as an embodiment of the host
nation’s heritage. The infamous three lions and red roses replaced
the stars and planets. Other than the new logos the balls themselves
were the same as their predecessor in 1994.

The last high profile
incarnation of the Questra was in the 1996-97 season in Spain. A
special edition with the Spanish football association’s
eye-catching Miró-esque logo was produced, and used in league
matches and by the national team. This was the Questra Apollo.

If
you have any of the Adidas Questra family of balls, please send us your review - contact
us